These strawberry éclairs are a classic French dessert — crisp choux pastry shells filled with a silky strawberry pastry cream and finished with a smooth white chocolate ganache. They work with both fresh and frozen strawberries, so you can make them year-round.

The filling is a classic French pastry cream — egg yolks, milk, and cornstarch — with strawberry puree cooked right in. It sets firm enough to pipe cleanly, with a natural strawberry flavor that’s bright without being artificial.

This éclair recipe is straightforward once you understand the dough consistency. The “V-shape” test takes the guesswork out of knowing when to stop adding eggs — and getting that right is what gives you a shell that holds its shape and stays crisp after baking.

If you’re exploring éclair flavors beyond the classic chocolate, strawberry is a great place to start: fruity, fresh, and just as elegant.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Works with fresh or frozen strawberries. No need to wait for strawberry season — frozen strawberries blend and cook down just as well for the pastry cream.
Clean, natural strawberry flavor. The filling is real pastry cream with real strawberry puree — no artificial flavoring, no shortcuts.
Impressive without being complicated. The whole recipe takes around 2 hours, but there are no advanced techniques — just straightforward steps that are easy to nail on the first try.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Éclairs

All-purpose flour. The structure of the choux pastry. White bread flour is a better option if you have it on hand. Otherwise, stick to all purpose.
Unsalted butter. Adds richness and helps the dough come together. Salted butter works in a pinch — just skip the added salt.
Milk and water. Used together for the choux liquid. Milk adds a bit of richness and color; water alone produces a slightly crisper shell. You can use all water if that’s what you have.
Eggs. Bind the dough and create steam during baking, which is what puffs the shells hollow. Add eggs gradually as the exact amount affects the final consistency.
Salt and sugar. Small amounts that balance flavor and help with browning.
Powdered sugar. Dusted over the piped dough before baking for a slightly crisp, even surface.

Strawberry Pastry Cream

Strawberries. Fresh or frozen both work for the puree.
Milk. The base of the pastry cream. Whole milk gives the richest result; lower-fat milk will produce a slightly thinner cream.
Egg yolks. Thicken the cream and give it a rich, custardy texture.
Cornstarch. The thickener. It sets the cream firm enough to pipe cleanly.
Sugar. Sweetens the cream. Adjust to taste once the cream is cooked and cooled.
Unsalted butter. Stirred in off the heat for extra richness and a smooth, glossy finish.
Lemon juice. Optional, but a small amount sharpens the strawberry flavor if the puree tastes flat.
Vanilla extract. Optional background note that rounds out the filling.

White Chocolate Ganache

White chocolate. The base of the ganache. Use good quality chocolate — cheap white chocolate can be waxy and won’t melt as smoothly.
Heavy cream. Melts the chocolate and gives the ganache its pourable consistency.
Unsalted butter. Optional but recommended. Adds shine and a slightly richer texture to the finished ganache.

Step-by-Step: How to Make Strawberry Eclairs

Strawberry Pastry Cream

👉 Check out our strawberry pastry cream recipe for more details.

Prep the strawberries. If using frozen, thaw and cook them gently until soft enough to blend. If using fresh, wash and remove the stems.
Puree and strain. Blend the strawberries into a smooth puree, then strain through a fine mesh sieve. The finer the strainer, the silkier the cream.

Heat the milk. Add the milk, sugar, and vanilla extract to a saucepan. Heat over medium until it just begins to steam and is close to a boil.
Prepare the yolk mixture. While the milk heats, whisk the egg yolks, strawberry puree, and cornstarch in a large heatproof bowl until smooth. Make sure the puree isn’t hot before adding the yolks.
Temper the eggs. Remove the hot milk from the heat. Slowly pour it into the yolk mixture in a steady stream, whisking constantly.
Cook until thick and bubbling. Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Once it thickens and begins to bubble, reduce the heat and whisk for another 30–60 seconds to cook out the raw starch taste.
Whisk off the heat. Remove from the heat and continue whisking for 30–60 seconds — this loosens the cream slightly so it sets smooth rather than overly stiff.

Add the butter. Stir in the butter until fully melted and smooth.
Taste and adjust. Add lemon juice if the cream needs a bit of acidity, or more sugar or a pinch of salt to taste.
Cool. Transfer to a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate until needed.

Choux Pastry

Preheat the oven. Heat to 390°F (200°C).
Combine and boil. Add the butter, milk, water, salt, and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure the butter is fully melted before it boils.
Add the flour. Remove from heat and tip in all the flour at once. Stir vigorously to combine, then return to low heat and stir for 2–3 minutes until the dough is smooth and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.

Cool the dough. Transfer to a bowl, spreading it up the sides to help it cool faster. Let it rest for 5–10 minutes.
Incorporate the eggs. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the dough on low and add the eggs gradually. Stop and check consistency as you go — the dough is ready when it slowly falls off a spatula in a thick V shape.

Pipe and Bake

👉 Read our eclairs 101 guide for more details on making eclairs.

Prepare the tray. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a perforated baking mat. Lightly grease the tray if using a perforated mat.
Fill the piping bag. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip — a Wilton 6B (roughly 15mm opening) works well. A plastic bag with a corner cut off works too.
Pipe the éclairs. Hold the bag at a 45-degree angle and pipe strips about 3 inches long for minis, leaving about an inch between each. Smooth the tips with a wet finger, then dust all éclairs with powdered sugar.
Bake. Place in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 356°F (180°C). Bake for 30–35 minutes for minis (or 35 – 40 minutes for regular eclairs), venting the oven door slightly in the last 5 minutes. Cool completely before filling.

White Chocolate Ganache

👉 Read our ganache guide for a complete tutorial on making ganache.

Chop the chocolate. Finely chop the white chocolate into small, even pieces for clean, even melting.
Heat the cream. Warm the heavy cream until just below boiling — look for small bubbles at the edges. Don’t let it reach a rolling boil.
Pour and rest. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and leave it undisturbed for 2–3 minutes.
Stir to emulsify. Stir with a spatula until smooth and glossy. For extra smoothness, blend briefly with an immersion blender.
Add the butter. If using, stir in the butter while the ganache is still warm until fully incorporated.

Ganache method steps photos — It works exactly the same way for dark, milk, and white chocolate

Assembly

Poke the holes. Use a small round piping tip or a paring knife to poke three holes in the bottom of each éclair (two for minis), just large enough for the piping tip to fit.
Loosen the pastry cream. If chilled, break it up with a fork, then whisk until smooth and pipeable.

Fill the éclairs. Pipe the pastry cream through the holes until it starts to emerge from an adjacent hole or any crack.
Top with ganache. The ganache should be thick but fluid — like syrup or honey. If it’s too thin, chill it briefly in a cold water bath, stirring often; if too thick, warm it gently. Dip the top of each éclair into the ganache and smooth away any excess.
Decorate. Top with fresh strawberries if you like.
Serve or refrigerate. Enjoy right away or store in the fridge, tightly covered.

Tips

Don’t skip the film on the pan. When cooking the choux dough on the stove, that thin film forming on the bottom of the pan is your cue that enough moisture has evaporated. Pull it too early and the dough will be too wet to hold its shape.
Vent the oven at the end. Leaving the oven door slightly ajar in the last 5 minutes lets steam escape and keeps the shells crisp. Skip this and they’re more likely to soften as they cool.
For a more intense strawberry flavor, reduce the strained puree on the stove for 10–30 minutes before using it. Make sure you start with enough strawberries to end up with around 1 cup of puree after reducing.
Topping options. White chocolate is the base here, but strawberry ganache gives you a pink finish, and milk chocolate is the classic chocolate-strawberry combo. Both are covered in our ganache guide.

Storage

Filled éclairs are best eaten the same day — the shells soften in the fridge overnight. If you need to get ahead, store the components separately: the pastry cream keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface, and the baked shells can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days, though they may still soften slightly over time.

Assembled éclairs can be refrigerated for up to 2 days in an airtight container. The shells will lose some crispness, but the flavor holds well.